At The Road's End
by AleutianStorm
Summary: What happens after John Smith confesses and Brenda MacDowall is found. Please be kind...this is my first attempt at writing fan fic. Rated M for language and future smut.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: They're not mine

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Spoiler Warning: Anything through 'The Road' is fair game.

Lilly Rush was exhausted. She'd been awake for over 40 hours, driven to West Virginia and back, and found a woman who had been missing for over a year.

"Lil, go home and get some rest. You look like hell."

"Thanks a lot Vera." she said sarcastically.

As she gathered her coat and searched her desk drawer for her keys, she surreptitiously looked around for her partner. He was probably still downstairs in booking with John Smith. Scotty had nearly killed Smith the night before and she wanted to check on her partner before she left. Sighing, she made a mental note to call him before she went to bed.

--

When she arrived home, Lilly was greeted by her 2 cats and their plaintive meows demanding food. She fed the cats, poured herself a glass of wine and headed upstairs to take a much needed shower.

Standing under the soothing spray, Lilly continued to worry about her partner. She knew Smith had really gotten to them both with his diatribes about how pointless it is to have hope. She also knew that Smith's question about Scotty 'getting a piece' of her had pissed him off even more. She'd had to bite her lip when Smith started in on her and Scotty's relationship so she didn't retort with, "Why would he want a piece of ass from me. He's already had my sister."

She hadn't said a word to Valens about his fling with Christina since the day she found out about it. It had been easier for her to just pretend that it had never happened and that it hadn't hurt her. She knew that she had no right to be upset about it. Scotty was her friend and partner – nothing more. He was what she looked for in other men, but still hadn't even come close to finding. Lilly knew that he looked at her as nothing more than a friend and partner – no matter what John Smith had said.

--

After her shower, Lilly pulled on a pair of navy blue satin pajamas, combed out her white-blonde hair and headed downstairs to drink her wine and check on her partner. As she dialed his number, someone began pounding on her front door. When she opened the door, Scotty was standing on her front step looking as exhausted as she felt.

"Hey," she smiled "what are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you. I tried calling, but you didn't answer."

"I was in the shower."

"I can tell," he replied "your hair's still a little wet." He reached out and brushed a slightly damp lock out of her eyes.

This action startled her and he noticed.

"Sorry 'bout that Lil" he muttered sheepishly – a hot blush staining his neck and face.

"Whatever," she smiled. "You wanna come in?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

"I was just about to have a glass of wine. Would you like one?"

"Sounds good to me."

"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home." she called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Scotty slid his coat off and draped it over a chair near the door, took off his tie and sat down at one end of her couch. Moments later Lilly returned from the kitchen carrying two glasses of wine and handed one to him. She settled herself on the opposite end of the couch, raised her glass slightly and asked, "So, what shall we drink to?"

Scotty smiled at her. "To another one closed – this time with a happy ending."

They toasted their success and began chatting about the case; marveling that Brenda MacDowall had been found alive and that she had survived solely because she was mentally tough and because she refused to give up hope.

"John Smith was a tough one." Scotty said. "Thanks for pulling me off of him."

Lilly laughed sarcastically, "Oh and me pointing my Glock at his head was so much better."

"You know, he was wrong about so many things," Scotty began. "He was wrong about Brenda. He was wrong about you."

"What," she said softly "How was he wrong about me?"

"He thought your only reason for living is catching scum like him and putting them away. He failed to recognize that you, like Brenda MacDowall, are strong. You believe in yourself and you never give up hope that you'll find the missing person, solve the cold job…" Scott trailed off when he realized that Lilly's eyes had filled with tears that were threatening to overflow at any moment.

"Lil, are you okay?" Scott asked reaching across the couch to tough her arm.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She muttered as she wiped the corner s of her eyes with the cuffs of her pajama top.

"Seriously Lil, what's bugging you?" he asked a little more forcefully.

"Really, I'm fine. It's been a long day. I'm just a little over-emotional. Smith and all of his rantings kind of got to me. That's all."

She kept her gaze averted from his, hoping he wouldn't question her any further. The last thing she needed was for him to push to the point where she admitted that she wasn't as strong and independent as everyone thought. She was lonely and craved companionship. And she desperately wanted to know if Smith was right – that Scotty secretly did thing about what it would be like to be with her.

Scottie broke the awkward silence by suggesting that they watch a funny movie, finish their wine and put the whole miserable day behind them. She agreed and went to grab the wine bottle from the kitchen while he loaded a movie into her DVD player. When she returned from the kitchen, she sat down a little closer to him than before and settled in to watch the movie. About fifteen minutes into the film, she felt Scotty's right arm resting on the back of the couch behind her shoulders. She smiled to herself as she scooted closer to her partner and laid her head on his shoulder. A few moments later, his arm slid down the back of the couch, coming to rest in the vicinity of her ribs, gently holding her close to him. She was surprised at her own behavior and even more stunned by his. Again, she smiled to herself and within a few moments, she was sound asleep.

--

Scotty Valens couldn't believe it. His partner was asleep. He'd never seen her asleep before. Then again, he'd never seen her cry before – and she'd come damn close to doing that tonight too. His arm tightened around her and she unconsciously snuggled a little closer to him. He knew she'd been having trouble sleeping ever since she'd been shot and he'd be damned if he was going to wake her.

He carefully shifted himself so he could swing his legs up on the couch. Scotty knew that when she awoke she'd be a little pissed at him for not waking her, but he knew she desperately needed sleep and as far as he was concerned, this was the closest he'd ever get to spending the night with Lilly Rush. As much as he'd tried not to let Smith get to him, the creep was right. Scotty fantasized about being with her more than he liked to admit. He also knew that he had ruined any chance he may have had with her when he slept with her sister.

As he lowered his upper body against the arm of the couch, Lilly shifted in her sleep. Her legs unfolded from under her and twined around his leg as she snuggled even closer to him; resting her head on his chest and her right hand somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.

He felt himself harden from the way her slender body felt in his arms, pressed tightly to him. He could feel her breasts flattened against him and the heat from her center against his leg.

In a perfect world, he'd wake her up, tell her he was madly in love with her and spend the rest of the night fucking her senseless. However, this wasn't a perfect world. He knew this was as good as it was going to get with her. Scotty kissed the top of her head gently and whispered, "I love you, Lil" before allowing himself to succumb to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Lilly awoke and found herself wrapped in Scotty's arms

The next morning Lilly awoke and found herself wrapped in Scotty's arms. For a moment she reveled in the warmth and security of his arms around her, and then cold reality set in. She remembered talking to him about John Smith, coming far too close to telling Scotty how she felt about him and then snuggling up to him to watch a movie. 'Brilliant Rush," she thought 'just when I didn't think it was possible for me to be any more pathetic, I found a new low." She was pissed beyond words at herself for her behavior the night before and a little annoyed with Scotty for not waking her the minute she dozed off. Determined to get up without waking her partner, she slowly and somewhat reluctantly began to attempt to disentangle her limbs from his. Unfortunately, as she attempted to escape the hold of his arms, he stirred slightly and tightened his grip around her.

Lilly sighed softly as she realized that her only options were to stay where she was until her partner woke up on his own or to break the hold he had on her and risk waking him. She wasn't sure she was ready to face him yet, so she settled her head back on his chest and was soon asleep again.

A short while later Scotty Valens awoke and immediately smiled at the sight of his beautiful partner asleep in his arms. He bent his neck to kiss her blonde hair one last time before he woke her and she most likely threw him out of her house. The slight shift of his body was enough. Lilly's sapphire blue eyes flew open but she didn't jump away from him immediately. Instead she yawned and pulled herself into a sitting position on the edge of the couch – her ass, he noted, was still touching his leg.

"Mornin' Sunshine," he grinned at her.

"Mornin' yourself," she replied hesitantly. "Sorry for falling asleep on you last night."

"Hey, no big deal. You gotta sleep sometime, right?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to stay here all night. I'm sure you have other things you'd have rather done."

"It was kind of nice…" he paused, uncertain if he should say what he really wanted to say.

She looked at him quizzically and he decided it would be better to just say it already. "It was really nice not waking up alone."

A faint blush crept into her pale cheeks. "Sure, whatever you say. I'm sure that's not a regular problem for you." This wasn't nearly as awkward as she'd been prepared for; in fact she was really enjoying having him here. "Would you like a cup of coffee, or do you need to get going?"

"Coffee sounds great."

As Lilly busied herself making coffee and locating mugs, she could have sworn she felt Valen's eyes following her every move. Almost immediately she banished the thought from her head. 'You're friends and partners – nothing else,' she admonished herself. 'He's not staring at you. You just wish he was staring at you.'

When the coffee was ready, she handed him a steaming mug. As he accepted it, his fingers brushed hers and he allowed them to linger an extra moment. Lilly broke the contact, grabbed her own coffee mug, wandered back into the living room and sat down on the couch. Scotty followed her, unsure what was running through her head at the moment.

"You okay, Lil?"

"Yeah fine," she replied – refusing to meet his eyes.

"Sure you are," Scotty said, "just like you were 'fine' last night when we were talking about what Smith said and you were nearly in tears. I mean it Lil, what's going on with you? Whatever it is, you don't have to deal with it alone."

Something inside of her snapped. Tears poured down her cheeks as she said, "Don't you get it? Smith was right. If you take away the job, I'm nothing. I have no one. I'm always alone and I always will be."

Scotty reached out and pulled her into his arms. Her head was buried against his shoulder as she cried for all the fears she usually managed to keep buried deep inside of her. His hands stroked her flaxen hair and her back as he held her and tried to reassure her that she was so much more than the job and that she was never alone.

When she finally regained her composure, she pulled back from his embrace, took a moment to wipe her eyes and said, "God, I can't believe how pathetic I am. That creep really got to me. Sorry you had to see that little outburst of emotion. I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life."

"Lil, don't be embarrassed. We all have cases that get to us. They cut deep and get under our skin. So you lost it a little because of this one. So what? And don't even worry about losing it in front of me. I care about you. I want to be there for you. I…" Scotty trailed off, knowing what he would have said had he kept talking. Then, Scotty Valens took a deep breath, looked directly into his partner's eyes and went for broke. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

The silence was almost deafening

Disclaimer: Unfortunately they're still not mine.

The silence was almost deafening. Scotty couldn't believe that those three words had just left his mouth, yet he didn't regret them. Lilly sat on the couch; completely speechless, convinced that she'd heard him correctly. After several minutes of absolute silence Lilly managed to find her voice.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"You heard me. I love you."

"Valens, what the hell has gotten into you? Is this your idea of a sick joke or something," she exclaimed, leaping to her feet.

"No," he leapt to his feet as well and began to pace back and forth. "Let me lay it all out there for you. I've been attracted to you for a long time. I've wanted you more than I've ever wanted anyone. Over time, it turned into something I've only felt one other time in my life – love. I also know that I have absolutely no right to sit here saying this to you after the mess with Christina. And I have even less of a right to even dream that you feel the same way, but I had to tell you the truth…I love you."

Lilly felt like her heart was about to explode. Scotty Valens had just said that he loved her. That he wanted her. Every rational fiber of her being screamed that this was not a good idea; that if anything happened and anyone found out it was tantamount to career suicide. Her heart shoved reason aside and she whispered, "Then how come I do?"

"What?" he nearly choked. Was this real? Did she just say that she loved him too?

"Then how come I do?" she whispered again.

"Lil," he said, taking her tiny white hands in his own and looking directly into her eyes, "are you saying you feel the same way?"

She nodded; a blush creeping up her pale, tear-stained face. He pulled her into his arms again, holding her tightly to him; reveling in the fact that she had just returned his declaration of love. After a few moments, he pulled away from her slightly. When she looked up at him to question why he had pulled away from her, their eyes locked. Scotty bent his head towards her and gently brushed his lips against hers.

Note: Sorry this chapter's so short, but I promise…things will be heating up a lot in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

It took Lilly a split second to process that Scotty Valens had just kissed her

**Disclaimer: They're not mine. If they were, the season wouldn't be ending tonight and the show would be far too hot for network television.**

It took Lilly a split second to process that Scotty Valens had just kissed her. Almost immediately, he kissed her again. This time, she reacted by sliding her hands around tot the back of his neck, encouraging him to continue. His hands began to roam up and down her back, one finally coming to rest on the small of her back, the other twining in her long blonde hair. She moaned softly against his mouth, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth. As their tongues danced and tangled he pulled her onto the couch so she was straddling him and his hands crept up the back of her pajama top.

When Scotty's hands made contact with the soft, warm flesh of her bare back, Lilly's breath caught in her throat. She was almost certain that at any moment she would wake up from the most spectacular dream she'd ever had.

Scotty's hand tugged gently on her hair, causing her head to fall back, exposing her throat to his lips, which kissed a trail to the top button of her top. She moaned as his hands slid over her breasts and he began slowly unbuttoning her pajamas.

As she felt the first button of her top pop open in his hand, Lilly realized exactly how far things were going to go between them and she was convinced that as much as she wanted to tear his clothes off and screw his brains out, her couch was probably not the most comfortable place to do so. With a Herculean effort, she tore her mouth away from his and captured his hands in hers.

"Scotty," she whispered breathlessly.

For his part, Scotty could hardly believe what was happening. He was actually making out with the one and only woman who had consumed his thoughts from the moment he met her. When he heard her whisper his name, he was certain that she'd decided that what was happening between them had to stop and that for the rest of his life, he be tortured by the way she tasted, the warm softness of her skin and thoughts of what could have been.

"Yeah, Lil?" he managed to choke out, convinced that the moment was about to come to a screeching halt.

"We should probably take this upstairs," she purred.

Lilly's words were all he needed to hear. Scotty swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs to her bedroom and gently deposited her in the center of her bed. In an instant, he was beside her, kissing her and running his hands over her body until she was breathless.

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me forever to update this and that the chapter's on the short side. My computer committed suicide last week (and I had to wait for the new one to arrive) and my husband seems to be around every time I want to sit down and work on this (He has no clue that I've started writing fanfic and would tease me mercilessly if he knew.).**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: They're not mine, but if someone wanted to put a bow on Scotty and give him to me, I wouldn't complain

**Disclaimer:** They're not mine, but if someone wanted to put a bow on Scotty and give him to me, I'd be a very happy girl.

A rush of cool air hit Scotty's skin as Lilly quickly divested him of his shirt and began to explore his body. His breath caught in the back of his throat as her soft hands caressed his back, his shoulders and his chest. He kissed his way down the side of her neck to her collarbone and his hands returned to their previous task of unbuttoning her pajama top. As the last button gave way, Scotty pulled back from her and gently pushed the fabric aside, allowing him to feast his eyes on her. Lilly's breasts were small and firm with rock-hard pink nipples. Just above her right breast he noticed the scar from the bullet she had taken in the interview room.

Lilly felt Scotty's eyes roaming her body and coming to rest on her scar. Suddenly, she felt shyness wash over her and moved her hand to cover the scar so he wouldn't have to look at it. She knew it was ugly and the last thing in the world she wanted was Scotty thinking she was ugly.

Scotty realized the reason for her sudden shyness. He reached for the hand covering the scar and gently pressed it to his lips.

"Let me look at you, Lil," he said huskily. "

"Scotty," she began, "you don't have to look at…"

The rest of her words never made it out of her mouth because Scotty had brushed his lips softly over the scar and had continued downward until he grazed her nipple with his teeth. She gasped at the sensation and then moaned softly as his hand slipped under the waistband of her pajama pants.

Lilly's back arched as his thumb flicked gently over her swollen clitoris and his fingers slid inside of her. Her breaths were coming in shallow gasps as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. Then, she came, moaning his name as her muscles squeezed his fingers.

As he watched her return to Earth from what had evidently been an incredible orgasm, Scotty knew he'd never been more in love with anyone in his life. His pants were painfully tight and he took a moment to pull off her pajama pants before shedding his own pants and boxers. When he looked up, he saw Lilly brazenly appraising his body from her position on the bed.

"See somethin' you like," he teased.

Her eyes sparkled like sapphires as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the bed with her.

"I want you…now," she whispered.

**A/N: Sorry it's another short chapter, but I seem to be battling a nasty case of writer's block. I hope to have another update ready by the end of this weekend.**


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